702 Music withNonn Botha

President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the 2019 elections as a new beginning, saying it is a turning point and that elected representatives will start putting the needs of citizens first.

The president voted at the Hitekani Primary School in Chiawelo, Soweto on Wednesday.

Eyewitness News reporter Theto Mahlakoana was there.

He says that this is heralding a new dawn and these elections will be the page turner that South Africans have been waiting for.

— Theto Mahlakoana, Senior political reporter - EWN

He says should the ANC win these elections, they would prioritise inclusive economic growth, the lack of growth thereof and the fact that the cost of living has been unaffordable for a lot of South Africans.

— Theto Mahlakoana, Senior political reporter - EWN

Click on the link below to hear from Mahlakoana....

Meanwhile EWN reporter Thando Kubheka spent the day in Reiger Park in the East Rand where residents braved the cold in the early morning to vote.

She says voting took off at exactly 7am at the Reiger Park Civic Centre.

The reason I went there is because like many other areas in the country, residents of Reiger Park have been battling service delivery issues such as lack of electricity and housing.

— Thando Kubheka, Reporter - EWN

Residents hope their vote will change their situation. Some were very confident with who they were voting for, saying that they would rather stick with the devil that they know.

— Thando Kubheka, Reporter - EWN

Moving on to Boksburg where ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe was voting, Khubeka says it was interesting to observe the difference in the issues that affect both areas.

People voting here are predominantly white so what would inform their decision was quite different. Most of them were speaking about issues of pot holes, corruption, electricity but all in all at the voting stations I have been visiting everything seems to be going smoothly.

— Thando Kubheka, Reporter - EWN

Click on the link below to hear more from Khubeka...

Reporter Ayanda Nyathi says a fair number of people have trickled in to vote in Alexandra and that the process has gone well.

Speaking to residents, Nyathi says voters have not shied away from expressing their party affiliations.

There were a few people clad in their regalia showing the respective parties that they are affiliated to.

— Ayanda Nyathi, Reporter - EWN

Nyathi also made a visit to Joubert Park where police have pointed out that the designated voting station is a hotspot for smash and grabs.

He says more IEC officials have been deployed to the station this year to address what is usually a very long queue.

This year they have gone about appointing more IEC officials to that station in attempt to lessen the lines which are traditionally quite long. There is been a record high five sub stations.